1and1 locked me out

[LeAnn B]

To anyone I've ever recommended 1and1.com to I'M SORRY! I received an email today from 1and1's abuse department saying they had received complaints that a 'large' amount of spam was coming from my webspace. And if I didn't correct the situation I would be locked out. I went to 1and1 to try to figure out what the deal was and then received another email about 10 seconds later that I was already locked out! I'm not saying the spam didn't come from my webspace but if it did I didn't know it and I don't know how to find the source. From what I've heard the technical department can only be contacted by email and if you call them they'll just tell you to send an email. Don't know if this is true but I sent off two seperate emails asking for assistance and if I don't recieve a reply within the next couple days I'll bite the bullet and call. My question is, has anyone ever had this type of problem with 1and1? If I could just get them to unlock it long enough for me to back up my files I'd move to another server. UGH!

[twj]

I just checked and I can get into the control panel but right now I can't open any of my e-mail accounts. Hopefully they will get that fixed and get your problem resolved, too. I've only communicated with them via e-mail.

Being new at web sites, I was told it is best to keep your files on your computer then copy them to the server when changes are made. That way you always have an up to date web site on your on pc if needed. I also use it to show the web site to people when web service isn't available.

[LeAnn B]

Hindsight is always 20/20

[twj]

My mother used to always tell me that, too.

[greg4god]

I do know that they do take late payment seriously, not only locking right away, but immediately sending it off to a collection agency which tacks on like $30 something to the bill (the fee ended up being more than my bill). Since I was only using their service for access to a windows platform to learn .NET, it wasn't a big deal for me though.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure I agreed to this somewhere in the terms when I signed up. But they are pretty strict on their rules. (And from working in the hosting industry, I can see where this can have it's reasons, to much can happen too fast). However IMO, if I were them and I locked your account, I would have a way for you get ahold of me(the company) to resolve the issue quickly, so that if it was fixable (spam by mistake, not an intended abuse), then your account would be back up and running ASAP and not loose you as a long term customer.

Unfortunately customer service issues only arise when it is needed most with hosting usually. If you need a recommendation of a non-windows hosting service, I can recommend the hosting company I have been using for 11 years now. (Note for the MODs, this is not self advertsing for where I work)

-Greg

[tedanderson]

In the same manner that people unknowingly violate copyright laws, people also unknowingly abuse webhosting. Don't blame it on 1and1. Just chalk it up to experience. Having a 2-3 day response time is the trade-off for being cheap and easy but I can say from personal experience that when they say 2 days they really mean it and they WILL fix the problem.

I've been using them for almost 2 years now and they have been a pretty good company. I've screwed up the pointing on my domain name a few times and they were more than happy to straighten it out for me but I had to wait 2 days and within 48 hours, it was fixed. But again, that's the trade off for having low prices. Oh.. and you are also right about something else- you better pay the bill ON TIME. Otherwise they will quickly pull the plug.

Giving a grace period might have been the courteous thing to do but the fact that they DONT do it does not make them a bad company.

[[Director] Joseph B]

First off, you need to find out if the spam was even coming from your site.
If so, who was sending it?
Anyone can put a spoofed e-mail address in the header (I used to send my son e-mails from when he was little and when he was older.
Servers get hacked, I backtracked some "inappropriate" e-mail going to my (then) minor daughter and it was coming from a Steel Company in Australia. I got hold of them and in a few days got a very nice letter as someone had hijacked their mail server and all kinds of stuff was being sent.
I do however think it inappropriate to suspend an account until you at least talk to the account owner. Perhaps you should consider Readyhosting? I'm a reseller and have a number of accounts with them and haven't had this type of problem (other types, but not this type).

[LeAnn B]

Ok to be fair, 1and1 resolved the situation within a couple hours and let me know where the spam was coming from. It was a security leak in the Dolphin CMS installation on my webspace. SO it wasn't their fault, I freaked out because of the bad press 1and1 has gotten and assumed my site was lost forever. I deleted the offending files and we're back up and running now. WHEW! Crisis averted! I REALLY didn't want to change hosts right now because we're moving next month and I have to train someone to keep the site updated. Now isn't a good time to be moving things around!

LeAnn

[twj]

I'm glad you got everything straightened out. I hope you take my 20/20 hindsight advice and back up your web sites to your pc. You will sleep better.